The Boston Globe reports that the exception would allow Tesla to consolidate its operations in Natick that include a showroom at the mall where customers can view a car and get information and a sales office elsewhere that handles sales.

The California company wants to sell its cars directly to consumers rather than working through independent dealerships, the traditional sales model and required by law in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the United States.

A judge dismissed a lawsuit by the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, which tried to block Tesla's proposed mall site. The dealers group is suing the Natick Board of Selectmen.